Broadband at blazing speed

Australians join with local provider

KOMSAN TORTERMVASANA

The local IT company Freeinternet and the Australian state of Victoria yesterday announced an agreement to develop a world-class broadband communications network in Thailand.

The Thailand Collaborative Optical Leading Testbed (Thai Colt), promises to offer content delivered 400 times faster than currently available broadband services.

Freeinternet hopes the project will help it achieve its goal to become the country's first operator of fibre-optic services to the home.

Kobsak Chiniawongwatana, the Freeinternet chief executive, and Frank Jaffer, the managing director of Senko Adv Australia, signed the Thai Colt agreement yesterday at a ceremony witnessed by John Brumby, the Victoria state treasurer and regional development minister.

Companies involved in the Thai Colt programme include Scion Photonics, Senko, Viva Photonics, CEOS, Redcentre, the VPN-Victoria Photonics Network and other telecom companies.

The consortium provides opportunities for local and international information and communications technology (ICT) companies, universities and health-care institutes to deploy next generation ICT services and applications.

"There has been significant growth in the demand for bandwidth and the rollout of broadband communication services to users, with communications network traffic doubling every 12 months," Mr Brumby said.

Mr Kobsak said fibre-to-the-home service (FITH) would offer the fastest broadband services in the country, with testing to start in the third quarter and a potential rollout by the end of the year.

Homes and offices would be able to gain access to a variety of services, including video-on-demand, pay-TV and high-speed Internet access.

Mr Kobsak said that Freeinternet would try to find partners to provide such services, particularly with state telephone and electricity enterprises for the deployment of the connectivity to end users.

Talks with several potential partners were already under way, he said, adding that Freeinternet would set up a joint venture and was ready to invest one billion baht to rollout home services this year.

FITH services would be first tested on interactive plasma screens.

High-speed Internet broadband under the FTTH will be called "ultra broadband" because it has 400 times faster than the present ADSL internet access.

He said that such the FTTH technology was in service in both Australia and Japan and could provide video on demand, TV, fixed-line, home entertainment, e-health (telemedicine) applications.

But in the initial stage, only corporate customers and educational institutions would be the prime target customers in the form of e-learning, he said.

But a clearer picture would have to be worked out on the service rates and content, he said.

I read that too.

The Ozzies obviously do not realise the Red Tape here, and the way the

Nationalised Industries like CAT have it all tied up in a nice monoploy!!

Even the established TOT has a difficult time getting a foot in the door.

Domestic links may blaze, but the international ones will be like a damp squib!!

They got the acronym wrong... even with the meaning in plain sight.

FTTH at 100mbits has been available in Japan for quite some time. Japan also had 45mbit cable internet service for about $30/month long before Thailand had affordable DSL.

I agree... unless the ozzies have a lot of "tea money" to pass around, I doubt we'll see FTTH in Thailand in the next 10 years.

no infrastructure its useless, ToT don't even support line up to 1mb, i also have true was gonna sign up for 4mb line, they told no can, line don't support, and im in bangkok, either that or they need to lay new line

it would be nice though wouldn't it?

it would be nice though wouldn't it?

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yes it would be very nice, i can download all the pirate CD in flash second instead of going to Pantip or foretune to buy it.

thats all i want it for, get some good flicks!

Well we do have a Thai domestic file share hub!!!

Well we do have a Thai domestic file share hub!!!

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Which quite a few of us are using as we speak!! You can download a new movie EVERY day...and then some!!

Take a look.....

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...=26928&hl=share

Well we do have a Thai domestic file share hub!!!

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can i have some link please

Look above you!!

another company was supposed to be building a lightning fast fibre optic system around LOS ,it was supposed to be finished last year , but judging from the sluggish BB in LOS its not finished.

still Thais need more fibre maybe that will unblock the blockages

The local IT company Freeinternet and the Australian state of Victoria yesterday announced an agreement to develop a world-class broadband communications network in Thailand.

australia doesn't even have 'world-class broadband communications network'

what a joke

Even if the Aussies could get in the door to do it the Thais would muck it up before it was done.

Unfortunately their "ultra broadband" will still have to pass through CAT. End of story.

Actually, I did some research a couple of years back, and it turned out that Australia was nearly as backwards as Thailand with regards to broadband. Their coverage was lousy, their prices were "by the hour" or an outrageous flat montly rate, their speeds (both theoretical and effective) were comparable to Thailand's, and their users were complaining constantly.

I hope the situation has changed in the past couple of years.

it seems the ISPs are not allowing more bandwidth during busy periods ,somebody is taking the pi55 .

this should all change hopefully within the next year with deregulation?